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open science

·June 20, 2024·3 min read

Prior LSD Use Linked to Lower Psychological Resilience

Lifetime LSD use is linked to higher severe psychological distress after job loss, a new study reveals. Analyzing data from 15,854 adults, researchers found those with prior LSD use were 1.6-1.7 times more likely to report severe distress. The study suggests LSD does not confer resilience to stress from job loss. These findings challenge previous claims about the psychological benefits of psychedelic use.

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·June 12, 2024·4 min read

Tactile Emoticons Boost Social Media Communication

Incorporating tactile emoticons into social media interactions enhances feelings of support and approval. Participants using a mock platform preferred receiving feedback through both visual and tactile cues over visual-only feedback. Tactile feedback, such as a stroke on the forearm, conveyed additional emotional context. The findings suggest touch can improve digital communication, informing future technology developments.

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·June 11, 2024·5 min read

Age Alters How We Navigate New Environments

Middle-aged adults explore new environments less thoroughly than younger individuals, prioritizing key locations over overall layout. Using virtual reality, the study observed significant differences in exploration and navigation behaviors between age groups.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·June 4, 2024·3 min read

Study Reveals Shifting Language in Mental Health Over 79 Years

A study of 340,000 texts over 79 years found a shift from terms like “disease” and “disturbance” to “mental health” and “psychiatric,” with “mental illness” now the most-used term. This evolution reflects growing recognition of mental health. The findings highlight the changing language in mental health discourse. Further research is needed to understand the impact of these terms on those experiencing mental ill health.

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·June 4, 2024·2 min read

Internet Addiction Disrupts Adolescent Brain Networks

A new study reviewed neuroimaging research on internet addiction in adolescents, revealing disrupted brain signaling in critical neural networks. These disruptions affect attention, memory, coordination, and emotional processing, impacting mental health. The review highlights the need for more diverse studies to understand these effects fully.

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·May 30, 2024·4 min read

How ‘Not’ Changes Everything: Brain Interprets Negated Adjectives

Researchers found that negating adjectives with "not" affects how our brains interpret their meaning, mitigating rather than inverting their definition. In lab-based experiments, participants took longer to process phrases like "not bad" compared to "good" or "bad."

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·May 22, 2024·6 min read

Bilingual Babies’ Brains Adapt Early

Newborns exposed to multiple languages before birth show distinct brain responses to speech sounds. Unlike monolingual babies who are more attuned to a specific language's pitch, bilingual babies show greater sensitivity to a wider range of sounds. This study highlights the impact of prenatal linguistic environments on early brain development and sound processing.

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·May 21, 2024·5 min read

Parental Distraction Negatively Impacts Child-Parent Interactions

A new study finds that any form of parental distraction, whether from screens or non-digital activities, negatively impacts parent-child interaction. Both digital and non-digital distractions led to reduced parental sensitivity and child engagement. This suggests that it's not the screens themselves, but rather the divided attention, that hinders parent-child communication.

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·May 18, 2024·4 min read

Bird Brains: Jays Show Episodic-like Memory

A new study finds that Eurasian jays exhibit episodic-like memory, a type of memory previously thought to be unique to humans. The birds were able to remember incidental details of past events, such as the visual characteristics of cups used in a food-hiding experiment.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·May 16, 2024·2 min read

Stress May Boost Helping Behavior When Witnessing Injustice

A new study finds that acute stress experienced while witnessing injustice can make people more likely to help victims rather than punish offenders. This shift in behavior is linked to increased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a brain region involved in decision-making. The findings suggest that helping others may be a more intuitive response than punishing them, especially under stress.

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·May 7, 2024·4 min read

Chimps’ Lifelong Learning Sheds Light on Tool Use Evolution

Chimpanzees continue to refine their tool-use skills well into adulthood, much like humans. By observing 70 wild chimpanzees at Taï National Park, researchers found that while basic motor skills for using sticks as tools are acquired by age six, more complex techniques develop continuously over time, fully maturing around age 15.

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·May 2, 2024·5 min read

Staying Active Mid-Age Boosts Women’s Health Later

A new study found that maintaining or adopting regular physical activity during middle age can significantly improve women's health-related quality of life later. Analyzing data from over 11,000 participants, the study discovered that women who met WHO physical activity guidelines consistently or began meeting them by age 55 experienced higher physical health scores compared to inactive peers. The findings underscore the long-term benefits of consistent physical activity, particularly in enhancing physical functioning in later life.